OTTAWA (CIS) – When the Windsor Lancers triumphed on home
court a year ago, they not only captured the first Bronze Baby
Trophy in school history, they also put an end to a 19-year Canada
West domination of CIS women’s basketball. If they are to
repeat as national champions this weekend, the Lancers will have to
do so in Canada West territory, with no less than four Western
teams leading one of the deepest fields in recent memory.

The 41st CIS women’s hoops championship is set to kick off
Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym on the campus of the University of
Calgary. The eight-team competition concludes on Monday with the
gold medal final at 7 p.m. Mountain (9 p.m. ET).

Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada will carry the two Sunday semifinal
games live. Shaw TV will also carry the final live, while NBA TV
Canada will broadcast the game on a two-hour tape delay. SSN Canada
will have live webcasts of all 11 contests, including the main and
consolation brackets.

The Lancers open their title defence against Acadia Saturday at
5 p.m. MT in the third quarter-final. Other first-round match-ups
include UBC vs. McGill at noon, Ottawa vs. Saskatchewan at 2 p.m.,
and Regina vs. Calgary in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
How things have changed in 12 months.

A year ago, as the new regional qualifying tournaments were
introduced, Saskatchewan found itself the only Canada West team in
Windsor trying to extend the conference’s supremacy. The
Huskies came close, reaching the national final for the first time
in program history, but in the end settled for silver following a
63-49 loss to the host Lancers.

It is a different story this time around. Despite losses at
their conference Final Four and at the West Regional, the Huskies
are back at the CIS Final 8 after receiving the coveted wild card
entry, and this time they will be one of four teams vying to put
Canada West back on top.

One thing is for sure. Regardless of which conference they
represent, the champions who will be crowned on Monday night will
have to beat one of the strongest fields in history in order to
hoist the Bronze Baby.

“I think this will be one of the most competitive national
tournaments in recent memory, with no clear-cut favourite to win it
all,” says Regina sideline boss Dave Taylor, who heads a
program that claimed its lone CIS banner in 2001.
“We’re hoping to go in and continue to play the way
that has got us to this point.”

“This year’s tournament will be highly competitive
with several teams having the ability to win it all,” adds
Saskatchewan’s Lisa Thomaidis.

McGill’s Ryan Thorne agrees.

“We start out against a tough Canada West opponent in UBC,
but I truly believe that there are no “Goliaths” at
this tournament,” says Thorne, whose team will be one of four
looking for a first national title in Calgary. “We, like
everyone else, will be there to win a national championship and I
believe that we will all need to be at our best to accomplish that
goal.”

Ottawa’s Andy Sparks is also confident heading into the
weekend.

“Regina and UBC are well deserved of their 1-2 seeding,
but we are playing well and I think playing in the regional
tournament last week was good for us in terms of preparation. Our
depth level is high and that can be a factor in a three-day
tournament.”

Regina was ranked first in the country all season but saw its
23-game winning streak snapped with a 78-59 loss to UBC in the
Canada West final. The Cougars, who led the nation in scoring in
conference play (84.2 ppg), rebounded nicely at the West Regional
and earned their berth for the CIS tournament thanks to wins over
Concordia and Brock. They are 3-0 this year against first-round
opponent Calgary.

UBC avenged a 77-66 regular season loss to Regina with the
victory in the conference title match. The T-Birds are red hot
going into the Final 8 having won 15 of 16 games since the
Christmas break, including their last seven.

“We are excited to represent UBC and the Canada West
conference and be back at the CIS national championship for the
first time in four years,” says 17-year head coach Deb
Huband, who has guided her program to national titles in 2004, 2006
and 2008. “We have been preparing since the off-season for
the right and opportunity to go against Canada’s best in
pursuit of the Bronze Baby. The opportunity to compete at Nationals
is something that we respect, cherish and very much look forward
to. We were thrilled to win the Canada West title and earn a high
seed into the Final Eight.”

Ottawa sent a message to the rest of the country early in the
season, on Nov. 18, upsetting defending CIS champion Windsor 74-58
in its third conference game. The Gee-Gees, the top defensive team
in the nation in 2011-12 (51.0 ppg), sent an even louder message
two weeks ago in the OUA final with a shocking 89-40 domination of
the Lancers. The rivals met again last weekend in the final of the
East Regional, with Windsor prevailing 58-55 in a game of little
significance as both teams had already punched their tickets to
Calgary.

“Saskatchewan is a well-coached team and we expect them to
be well prepared. They’ll come with a solid defensive game
plan and we’ll just have to be able to execute against
them,” says Sparks, who has led the Gee-Gees to three Final 8
appearances in his four seasons at the helm and now hopes to see
his troops advance past the first round at the Nationals for the
first time in team history.

Like Regina in Canada West, Windsor rebounded well following its
loss in the OUA championship game with victories over Cape Breton
and Ottawa at the East Regional. The Lancers are still a formidable
team led by forward Jessica Clemençon, last season’s
CIS player of the year, and guard Miah-Marie Langlois, the MVP of
the 2011 CIS tournament.

“We are thrilled to make our fourth straight national
tournament appearance,” says head coach Chantal
Vallée. “It is a privilege every year to get a chance
to compete amongst the best for the Bronze Baby. I am proud of my
team and we can’t wait to start our first game. We have been
waiting for this all year and we are ready.”

Windsor’s first-round opponent on Saturday, Acadia, is one
of the feel-good stories of the season. After finishing first in
the Atlantic conference with a stellar 17-3 record, the Axewomen
claimed their first-ever AUS banner with an 82-72 win over Cape
Breton and are now set to make their CIS championship debut. Acadia
also proved it could have success outside of its conference over
the last few months with two wins in three match-ups against No. 3
Ottawa.

“This has been an historic season for our program. This
group of players feels privileged to have been able to capture the
conference title, as a means to honour the many other young women
who have played a part in building toward this achievement,”
says Bev Greenlaw, in his fourth campaign at the helm. “This
bunch has worked hard to earn this. They agreed at the beginning of
this season upon some specific, very challenging goals for
themselves and have worked daily to build a team that could muster
a championship-calibre effort.”

Saskatchewan was hit hard by graduation following its appearance
in last year’s CIS final as the game marked the end of the
university careers of four fifth-year starters. The Huskies still
managed to go 24-8 overall against CIS competition this season and
have been ranked no lower than sixth all year in the national Top
10.

“We are extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity
to compete in the Final 8 again this season,” Thomaidis says.
“Gaining the at-large berth and competing at Nationals for
our fifth year in a row is a huge accomplishment for our young
team.”

McGill hasn’t competed for the Bronze Baby since 1996,
when the Martlets edged Western in overtime in the bronze medal
match for their best result at the CIS tourney. The RSEQ champs put
together a pair of solid defensive performances to claim their
first Quebec banner in 15 years, defeating UQAM 63-56 in a
semifinal and Concordia 56-49 in the title game.

“I think it is an honour to represent the RSEQ at the
national championship, and one that our team has earned,”
says Thorne.

Calgary also returns to the Final 8 after a long hiatus. The
host Dinos, who captured their lone Bronze Baby back in 1989, last
played at the Nationals in 2001, when they won the bronze
medal.

“We’re excited to welcome the best teams in the
country to the University of Calgary – it doesn’t get
any better than this! Our organizing committee has been hard at
work, and we look forward to making this event one of the best
championships ever,” says Shawnee Harle, the longest-serving
head coach at this week’s tournament with 18 seasons on the
Dino sidelines.

“Our team is thrilled with the opportunity in front of
them, and they’re ready to leave everything on the
floor.”

NOTE: Live webcast of all games on SSN Canada (ssncanada.ca).
Semifinals will be broadcast live on Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada, and
the final will be broadcast live on Shaw TV and on a two-hour tape
delay on NBA TV Canada.